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Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: Dos Equis on February 22, 2008, 12:17:40 PM
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Hillary had the same problem.
Obama Distances Self From Indicted Donor
Democratic Candidate Says He Had No Indication Of Wrongdoing By Real Estate Developer Tony Rezo
Comments 115
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2008
(CBS/AP) Barack Obama sought to distance himself Wednesday from a real estate developer and fast-food magnate facing federal corruption charges, saying he had no indication of any problems when he accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Antoin "Tony" Rezko.
"My relationship is he was somebody who I knew and had been a supporter for many years, he was somebody who had supported a wide range of candidates all throughout Illinois," the Democratic presidential candidate said in an interview with CBS News' The Early Show. "Nobody had an inkling that he was involved in any problems. When those problems were discovered, we returned money from him that had been contributed."
Obama, an Illinois senator, also said it was a mistake for him to have purchased a strip of land from Rezko's wife. The land adjoins the Obamas' Chicago home. Rezko was widely reported to be under grand jury investigation at the time.
"Everything was above board and there's been no allegations that it wasn’t," Obama told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.
"In terms of appearances, and I've already said this, that I should not have entered into any kind of agreement with him," Obama added on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Obama also has given to charity about $37,000 in contributions to his Senate campaign and political action committee that were linked to Rezko. Rezko also raised tens of thousands of dollars for Obama's state legislative and Senate races.
Rezko faces a Feb. 25 trial, almost three weeks after the Super Tuesday primaries that could go a long way in settling the Democratic nomination. He is charged with fraud, attempted extortion and money laundering for allegedly plotting to get campaign money and payoffs from firms seeking to do business before two state boards.
Once that trial is behind him, the 53-year-old Rezko faces a separate federal charge of swindling the General Electric Capital Corp. out of $10 million in connection with the sale of pizza restaurants.
Obama's name has not come up in connection with any of the corruption charges swirling around Rezko. In fact, prosecutors indicate the source of Rezko's clout was somewhere within Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration.
Presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton raised Obama's relationship with Rezko in a Democratic debate Monday night.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/23/politics/main3743057.shtml
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That doesn't matter...its ok..because he's for hope and change. ::)
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...its ok..because there's not even the slightest bit of suspicion that there was any impropriety on his part.
FIXT
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Um...never said that about this guy. He's up to his head in questionable bullshit.
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Um...never said that about this guy. He's up to his head in questionable bullshit.
I saw your post the other day where you questioned his fitness for president because he was a muslim even though he's not...and because he's supported by muslims... even though you also claimed they wanted him dead in the same thread.
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He was a muslim...I have a problem with that given their recent history. He's a christian now....thats a big deal some extremist groups. He is supported by muslim groups that have questionable ties...there is alot to this guy that really doesn't sit well. If this was a Repub with ties to the Christain hate groups...met with David Duke...spent time in anti-gay church schools etc etc....u guys would be all over them.
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I saw your post the other day where you questioned his fitness for president because he was a muslim even though he's not...and because he's supported by muslims... even though you also claimed they wanted him dead in the same thread.
HH6 has the intelligence of your average drone, don't be too hard on him.
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HH6 has the intelligence of your average drone, don't be too hard on him.
Here we go again with the elitist mindset.
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Prosecutors: Rezko should get up to 15 years in prison
Chicago Sun Times ^ | 11-4-11 | Natasha Korecki
Posted on November 4, 2011 7:32:07 PM EDT by STARWISE
Federal prosecutors say Tony Rezko deserves to spend up to 15 years in prison for his crimes in two separate cases and that he damaged his own credibility by lying to the court.
Prosecutors for the first time publicly addressed why they never called the convicted political fund-raiser to the witness stand after he began cooperating in 2008. They say in more than 19 meetings with them, he did not fully tell the truth about his own wrongdoing until he was confronted by agents with new information. Prosecutors said juries would never have accepted his word.
“Rezko’s cooperation was heavily tainted by the timing of when he decided to cooperate, by his repeated lies to judges, and by his pervasive and sustained lies made to the government over the first several months of his purported cooperation with the government,” prosecutors wrote.
The recommendation is in drastic contrast from the time served that Rezko’s lawyers are asking U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve to impose at his Nov. 22 sentencing. Prosecutors said they believe Rezko should face 11 to 15 years in prison for a kickback case before St. Eve and a separate loan fraud case that was before U.S. District Judge James Zagel.
The government’s recommendation is significantly more steep than the roughly five and a half years that Stuart Levine faces. Levine is accused of conspiring with Rezko during Rod Blagojevich’s administrations to win kickbacks from state deals.
“From the government’s perspective, the major difference between Levine and Rezko is not the quality or quantity of their past crimes — both Rezko and Levine are guilty of terrible crimes,” prosecutors wrote. “The major difference between Levine and Rezko is that Levine’s cooperation with the government has been truly remarkable, while Rezko’s has not. For his many faults, Levine’s cooperation is directly responsible for convictions in difficult and important cases against, among others, Rezko, William Cellini, and Edward Vrdolyak.”
They said Levine cooperated “pro-actively.” Levine has testified in two major trials. But Rezko’s lawyers argue, that prosecutors could have called Rezko to testify — he was prepared to do so — but they never did.
“In contrast, the best that can be said of Rezko’s cooperation is that, after obstructing the government’s investigation and his court proceedings and going to trial, he helped the government develop several witnesses who testified against Rod Blagojevich,” prosecutors wrote.
“The timing, quality, and utility of Rezko’s cooperation pales in comparison to Levine’s. As a result, while Rezko and Levine are roughly equivalent when it comes to their past crimes, Rezko deserves a significantly higher sentence than Levine because Levine’s cooperation was so superior to Rezko’s.”
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